Mountaintop festival raises money in memory of Amanda Bowders

Nineteen-year-old Amanda Bowders was a bright, cheerful young woman that family friends said always had a smile on her face. On Feb. 14, 2007, the Waynesboro teen and devoted Girl Scout was killed in a tragic sledding accident at Hooverville Elementary School.

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By Joshua Vaughn/The Record Herald

Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA

By Joshua Vaughn/The Record Herald

Posted Nov. 4, 2013 at 12:45 PM

By Joshua Vaughn/The Record Herald

Posted Nov. 4, 2013 at 12:45 PM

BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT — Nineteen-year-old Amanda Bowders was a bright, cheerful young woman that family friends said always had a smile on her face. On Feb. 14, 2007, the Waynesboro teen and devoted Girl Scout was killed in a tragic sledding accident at Hooverville Elementary School.

To honor her memory, family and friends created a garden in her name outside of the Blue Ridge Summit fire hall. The garden is funded in part by a mountaintop event held every spring and fall at the fire hall.

On Saturday, local artists, musicians, craftsmen and other gathered at the fire hall for the fifth Mountaintop Community Fall Fair and Art Show. The $600 raised went toward installing a patio at the memorial, which currently has beautiful foliage, memorial pavers and a gazebo.

“It means a lot to see people coming out and supporting the garden and the community,” said Lori Bowders, Amanda’s mother. She joked that her daughter would have humbly said too much attention is being paid to her. “It touches me that so many people support it (the garden) and the community.”

For everyone

While the garden was named in honor of Bowders, organizers said the garden is for everyone.

“I think we need to remember not only Mandy, but the memorial garden is for anybody in the community that has passed away,” said Lynn Martin, organizer of the event and Amanda’s Girl Scout leader for 13 years. “I think it’s just a good thing to know she was so good spirited. This idea of Girl Scouting, and community and just when she passed, we had to do something.”

Martin went on to explain that the bi-annual event not only helped raise money for the garden, but also helps raise awareness that the garden is there.

“When someone passes you know you don’t want to dwell on it,” Martin said. “It’s kind of hard to describe, but you want to remember the good of it and that’s what I think we’re doing. As you go by and people go ‘look how big the trees are getting. Oh you have a gazebo.’ So, it’s always a work in progress.”

Stump the appraiser

Along with artisans, authors and music by local singer songwriter Rich Fehle, three antique dealers were on hand to do appraisals. Sam Tressler, Terry Barkdoll and Mel Halterman volunteered their time and charged $5 an item, with all proceeds going to the memorial garden.

The group said they had been offering appraisals as a way to raise funds for the garden at each of the past 10 events. Items range from standard antiques and collectibles to a Frank Feather cane, appraised at $10,000. The highest appraisal was a painting that Tressler appraised at a minimum of $15,000.

Page 2 of 2 - “It’s for a good cause,” Barkdoll said. “We’ve been doing it now for every bit of five years.”

For the past two years, the trio has issued a challenge to “stump the appraiser.” If someone brings in an item that the group cannot identify, they win a gift certificate to a local business. This is a rather steep challenge, as the group says they have only been stumped once in two years.

The next event will be held in March 2014. Memorial pavers for a loved one to be placed in the garden can be purchased for $125, with checks made payable to the Amanda K. Bowders Memorial Garden Fund.

For more information on the garden or how to donate, contact Martin at 642-5645.